Kampot - Where the Pepper Grows

Kampot is a small town in the southeastern part of Cambodia. If you ever wondered where the pepper grows, I can tell you that it's not as bad as you might think.

The bus trip was very amusing, as there was a Chinese man in front of me who spent hours looking at pictures of himself wearing his triangle bathing suit on the beach. Despite the fact that the bus was the smelliest and oldest one I've ever been on, I had a lot of fun and couldn't stop shaking my head.

You can explore Kampot and its beautiful surroundings by scooter, which was my constant companion.

In the middle of the city, there is a Durian monument. Durian is the famous smelly fruit. I couldn't find anyone to explain to me why on earth there is a monument for such a fruit:).

We also went to the Bokor National Park, where the road winds its way up through beautiful nature for a very long time.

Once we reached the top, we saw the creepy ruins of a church, an old abandoned casino (which unfortunately cannot be entered anymore), a big Buddha and plenty of amazing viewpoints to admire.

Furthermore, there are plenty of salt fields around Kampot. I stopped by a few, but unfortunately, I didn't have the luck to watch the farmers work.

Not far from Kampot is the small fishing village of Kep, which is especially famous for its crab market. You can easily reach it by scooter. However, if you have a sensitive nose and stomach, be prepared for very strong and unusual smells for us Europeans.

But my highlight in Kampot were the two pepper farms I visited.

You can book tours to the farms and tuk-tuk drivers are constantly approaching you to take you to the pepper plantations. However, I recommend renting a scooter and exploring everything on your own. Along the way, you can discover so many amazing things and especially small, original Cambodian villages, which quickly make you forget all the bad and dusty roads. It's worth it!

The pepper farms are beautifully laid out and the free tours are incredibly interesting. It's crazy how much manual labor is involved in Kampot pepper. The tour also includes a tasting, which was incredibly interesting as well. It's amazing how versatile and different pepper can be.

Other than that, I got caught in the rainy season multiple times in Kampot. A proper monsoon rain can really hurt during a scooter ride. So, I ended up standing completely drenched at gas stations for a long time and once I even had a completely flat tire. But well, that's how it is in the rainy season and, as we all know, after rain comes sunshine.

From Kampot, I then took a surprisingly luxurious train to Phnom Penh, to fly from there to the next country on my journey, Thailand.

I can only recommend the train journey from Kampot to Phnom Penh, as it offers truly stunning views along the way.

Cambodia, you were impressive and beautiful!

On to Thailand...